Radiator lift



Nov. 27, 1951 w. R. WILLlAMS RADIATOR LIFT 2 SI-IEET SSHEET 1 Filed June 1, 1950 INVENTOR.

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ATTORNEYS.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 llln H ll Nov. 27, 1951 Filed June 1, 1950 V v INVENTOR. Williafia R. WzlZLanzs' Patented Nov. 27, 1951 OFFICE RADIATOR LIFT William R. Williams, Tampa, Fla., assignor to D. H. Brubaker, Tampa, Fla.

Application June 1, 1950, Serial No. 165,483

11 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a hoist or lift adapted particularly for use in the handling of motor vehicle radiators.

The repair of a motor vehicle radiator of necessity involves the total or partial immersion thereof in water vats for the purpose of testing the radiator for leaks; many such immersions are required for the repair of a single radiator. It will be appreciated that during the course of a normal work day a mechanic employed in such a shop will, as a result, be required to raise or lower radiators hundreds of times, and when it is considered that such radiators weigh, generally, not less than 60 and oftentimes more than 300 pounds, it is readily seen that the mere lifting" and lowering of the radiators use up much of the workers time and further is quite fatiguing.

It is the general object of the present invention to eliminate this undesirable situation by the provision of a lift which will do all that a mechanic would otherwise be compelled to do in respect to changing the location and/or position of the radiator.

For specific objects the invention has as one important purpose the provision of a lift of the type stated specially designed for a much longer vertical travel than has heretofore been possible, to my knowledge, in low tonnage lifts. u

Another important object is to provide a lift designed to support and lift, easily and without binding, a radiator disposed well away from the lift, for movement of said radiator into and out of water vats as necessary.

Another object is to provide a lift that is specifically adapted not only for elevation and lowering of an automobile radiator through a long range of vertical movement, but also willpermit the supported radiator to be swung bodily in a circular path around the lift, rotated in posi tion in a vertical plane, and rotated in position in a horizontal plane, thus to permit movement of the radiator from a workbench to an adjacent. vat or from one vat to another, reversal of the radiator side for side or end for end, or a com bination of any of said movements. n

Another important object is to provide a lift of the character stated that will support a radiator while leaving almost all surfaces of the racliator fullyv exposed and completely accessible to.

the workman performing testing or repair opera-' tions thereon. a.

2 construction and combinations of parts, hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims, it being undertood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a lift formed in accordance with the invention.

ure 2 is a section taken substantially on line II-II of Figure 1, a horizontally supported radiator being shown in dotted outline.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail section of one of the clamping heads taken substantially on line IIIIII of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the lift, supporting a radiator vertically and illustrated adjacent a vat in which said radiator is to be immersed.

Referring to the drawings in detail, I is any suitable base, here illustrated by way of example as being a cast circular base having the central threaded recess 2 in which is mounted the threaded lower end of the cylinder 3 of substantial length and formed preferably from heavy tubular metal stock.

The cylinder 3 extends vertically from the base I and at its upper end is provided with a uide ring 4 pressure-fitted into the bore of the cylinder. Intermediate the ends of the cylinder, a stop ring 5 is drive-fitted in the cylinder bore, the rings 4 and 5 having registering central openings in which slides the piston rod 6. The piston rod is of a length approximately rather closely the length of the cylinder, as readily seen from Figure 1 wherein the piston is seen at the lower limit of its travel within the cylinder.

By means of a thread connection I the lower end of the rod 6 is secured to a cylindrical piston 8 that is reciprocable within the cylinder between the base I and the stop ring 5. That portion of the cylinder bore within which the piston works is honed for smooth and tight piston operation therein and may be rebored if such is found desirable or necessary. A cup washer 9 is ailixed to the lower or outer end of the piston to prevent leakage of the pressure fluid past the piston.

The rod 6 has a threaded upper end 10 extended through, the central opening ll formed in the closed upper end l2 of a sleeve jacket I 3, the jacket being also formed of heavy tubular metal stock and being of elongated mation. The jacket fitsoventhe cylinder s, an .:.is in sliu ble contact with the outer surface of the cylinder, so that the cylinder in effect telescopes within the jacket. In this connection, the jacket is of a length that will cause it to lap the cylinder to a substantial extent even in the position of maximum jacket elevation.

The threaded upper end it] of the rod 6 is fixedly connected to the upper end of the jacket as by nuts l4 and I5.

Extendin laterally from an intermediate portion of the jacket is a pair of arms I6 in the present instance formed from fiat bar material, said arms being welded at I! to the jacket in spaced relation and being extended downwardly at a steep incline from the side wall of the jacket. The arms iii are parallel and at their lower ends are made rigid by welds !8 with a vertically positioned circular supporting plate is disposed transversely of the lower ends of the arms and constituting a stationary base on which a circular plate 28 may rotate. The plate 26 is formed to the same diameter as plate Hi. This arrangement defines a main swivel connection supported by and to one side of the jacket.

A weld 2i rigidly secures to the rotating plate the bight 22 of a U-shaped tubular yoke having wide-spread parallel horizontal arms 23. This yoke has rotative movement with the plate 20 on an axis parallel to the arms 23, the plates I9, 23 having registering openings 24, 25 providing bearings for a heavy bolt 26 formed at its head end with a non-circular shank 21 fitting into a corresponding non-circular opening of the bight 22. The bolt 26 extends through a central opening formed in a bearing plate 28 extending transversely of the arms l6 and spaced rearwardly from the plate IS. The arms l6 have notches 29 in which the ends of the bearing plate are supported, and lock nuts 30 are threaded upon the bolt to hold the parts assembled.

By reason of the arrangement so far described, it is observed that there is provided a horizontally extended yoke supported by the jacket for rotating movement upon a horizontal axis disposed centrally between and parallel to the arms of the yoke. The entire yoke, meanwhile, swings bodily through a circular path the center of which is the vertical axis of the jacket, this being so by reason of the fact that the jacket itself is permitted rotation upon said vertical axis, the openin I! at the upper end of the jacket being a smoothw-alled opening through which the threaded upper end of the rod 6 extends, whereby the jacket is in eifect swivelled upon a spindle constituted by the upper end of said rod.

Adjacent the outer or free end of one of the arms 23, I fixedly secure to said arm a short post 3] extending toward the opposite arm 23 a short distance. Rotatablymounted upon said post is a circular clamping head 32 whichis preferably provided on its work-engaging face with a protective cushion or facing 33 of rubber or other material of equivalent characteristics.

In opposition to and cooperating with the clamping head 32 in gripping a radiator R is another clamping head. This is mounted for movement toward or away from the head 32 and to this end is mounted upon a threaded post 3 5 preferably provided with a quick tllead for speedy adjus ment toward and away from the object to be clamped. The post 36 is threadedly engaged in the threaded transverse opening formed in the other. arm 23 adjacent tlieiree end thereof.

" At its inner end] the post 34 rotatively and 'tiltabl suppdrtssareunr clampm having the protective facing 31. At its outer end the post 34 is provided with an angular handle 38 for facilitating rotation of the screw or post.

The mounting of the plate or clamping head 36 is particularly well shown in Figure 3, wherein it is seen that the plate is formed with a ball socket 39 receiving the ball 40 formed upon the post 34, thus to give the head 36 universal movement upon the end of the post.

The following characteristics with respect to the clamp are worthy of note. The clamp is adapted to grip radiators of any size or thickness, by reason of the length of the yoke, and adjustability of the clamping heads toward and away from each other. Any radiator so gripped, meanwhile, is almost fully exposed for making accessible to the workman any portion thereof on which repair work is to be done. The spacing of the arms 23 is such that interference with tools being used, etc., is held to a. minimum.

With further reference to the manner of use of the device, the universal mounting of one of the clamping heads adapts the clamp to special surface formations of a particular radiator. Then, additionally, the radiator is supported for swivelling movement in a horizontal plane by reason of the rotative mounting of the clamping heads upon the posts, 3| and 34 respectively.

Thus, to sum up the several operating characteristics or features of the lift in respect to the handling of a supported radiator, it may be noted that the radiator is lifted or lowered vertically through a substantial distance, by actuation of the piston 8. This permits a workman to move a radiator from a work bench and into and out of high-walled tanks or vats T. Rotation of the jacket upon the cylinder 3 is imparted manually by the workman during the elevation or lowering of the radiator, so as to position the radiator above a particular bench or tank T.

Rotation of the radiator in a vertical plane is permitted by the rotating connection I9, 20, while rotation in a horizontal plane is provided for by the rotatable mounting of the clamping heads upon their associated posts.

As a means for imparting upward and downward travel to the jacket I prefer to utilize a liquid such as oil forced into the cylinder and against the piston by application of air pressure to the body of liquid, this means being well adapted to supply the requisite force while still possessing the desirable attributes of low initial and operating costs. To'this end, a supporting bracket includes a plate 4| welded or otherwise made rigid with the lower portion of the cylinder 3. and also rigid with the laterally extended arm 42 the outer end of which is provided with plate as rigidly attached to the wall of a liquid reservoir M. containing a supply of liquid 45, there being a space 46 left at the upper end of the reservoir into which air is forced under pressure. A fluid pressure line 41' extends from the lower end of the reservoir to the lower end of the cylinder 3, and through this the liquid is forced, against the cup washer 9 to impart upward movement to the piston.

For forcing air into the reservoir, there is provided an air pressure line 48 extending to the upper end of the reservoir and suitably valved forswift and easy control by the workman. A conventional two-way valve can be utilized, or there can be provided, asshown, a valve arrangewhlbhex'teridsla supplyline at an ifilet' valve.

asvdaao 5| interposed therein. On the other side of the T is the relief valve 52. When the valve 5| is opened with valve 52 closed, air is forced under pressure into the reservoir, causing elevation of the connected piston, rod, jacket, yoke, and associated parts. When the radiator is to be lowered, valve 5| is closed and valve 52 opened, relieving the air pressure as a result of which lowering of the radiator takes place by gravitational action.

Apart from the operating characteristics of the device in'connection with movements which can be given the supported radiator and variations in sizes of radiators that can be accommodated, it is believed of importance to note that the construction is one particularly adapted to support the heavy radiator well to one side of the lift so as to permit immersion from above into the center portion of a tank T of substantial size, while still permitting vertical travel through a substantial distance and while still preventing binding the lift, which would normally result in a device having these characteristics. This desirable feature obtains through the relative formation and arrangement of the cylinder 3, the piston rod 6 spaced from the cylinder wall by the guide and stop rings and piston, and the elongated jacket concentric with the piston rod and cylinder and slidably fitted upon the cylinder over an area extending a substantial part of the length of the cylinder, to an extent, in fact, that causes the jacket to lap the cylinder to a substantial extent even at maximum elevation of the jacket.

I claim:

1. A motor vehicle radiator lift comprising an upstanding cylinder, a sleeve jacket surrounding and slidable longitudinally of the cylinder and rotatable 360 about the cylinder, arms rigid with and inclined downwardly from the jacket, radiator rotating means carried by said arms and rotatable 360 on a substantially horizontal axis and radiator-gripping means carried by said radiatorrotating means, including two pivots rotatable 360 with their axes of rotation substantially normal to said axis.

2. A motor vehicle radiator lift comprising an upstanding cylinder, a sleeve jacket surrounding and slidable longitudinally of the cylinder, arms rigid with and extending laterally from the jacket,

a swivel on the outer ends of the arms, a yoke on is said swivel, and radiator-clamping means carried by said yoke.

3. A motor vehicle radiator lift comprising a standard, arms rigid therewith at their inner ends and extending downwardly and laterally away 5 from the standard, said arms being otherwise free of connections to the standard, a horizontally disposed yoke swivelly connected to the outer ends of the arms, and radiator-clamping means carried by said yoke.

4. A motor vehicle radiator lift comprising a standard, arms rigid at their inner ends with the standard and extending laterally and downwardly away from the standard, a U-shaped yoke extending horizontally from the outer ends of the arms, the bight of the yoke being swivelly connected to the arms, and a radiator clamping means mounted upon said yoke.

5. A motor vehicle radiator lift comprising a standard, arms rigid at their inner ends with the standard and extending laterally and downwardiy away from the standard, U-shaped yoke extending horizontally from the outer ends ofthe arms, the bight of the yoke being connected to said outer ends for swivelling movement on a ends for swivelling movement on a horizontal axis,

said yoke including spaced apart yoke arms parallel to and disposed at opposite sides of said axis, and clamping heads adapted for engaging opposite faces of a radiator and respectively mounted on the yoke arms for rotation on an axis perpendicular to said first named axis.

7. A motor vehicle radiator lift comprising an upstanding cylinder, a piston working therein, a rod concentric with said cylinder and secured to the piston, a sleeve jacket secured to said rod and concentric with and surrounding the cylinder, and means on said jacket adapted for gripping a motor vehicle radiator and supporting said radiator in spaced relation to the side wall of the jacket.

8. A motor vehicle radiator lift comprising an upstanding cylinder, a piston working therein, a rod concentric with said cylinder and connected at one end to the piston, a sleeve jacket concentrio with and surrounding the cylinder, said sleeve jacket having slidable contact with the outer surface of the cylinder and being swivelled upon the rod, and means extending laterally from the jacket and adapted for gripping a motor vehicle radiator.

9. A motor vehicle radiator lift comprising an upstanding cylinder, a piston working therein, a piston rod connected at its lower end to the piston and mounted slidably inside the cylinder, a sleeve jacket swivelly connected at its upper end to the upper end of the rod, said cylinder, rod, and jacket being concentric and said jacket having a sliding fit upon the outer surface of the cylinder, arms rigid with and extending laterally and downwardly at an incline from the side wall of the jacket, a yoke swivelled on a horizontal axis to the outer ends of the arms, and radiator clamping heads mounted upon the yoke for rotation on an axis perpendicular to the swivel axis of the yoke.

10. A motor vehicle radiator lift comprising an elongated vertical cylinder, a piston having asliding fit in the lower portion of the cylinder, means for applying force to said piston for imparting upward travel thereto within the cylinder, an elongated piston rod connected to the piston and extending upwardly therefrom within the cylinder, a sleeve jacket having a closed upper end mounted upon the upper end of the rod for rotation on the axis of the rod and cylinder, said cylinder, rod, and jacket being concentric, arms rigid with the jacket intermediate the upper and lower ends of the jacket and extending downwardly from the jacket at an incline, a yoke the bight of which is connected to the arms for swivelling on a substantially horizontal axis, said yoke extending horizontally away from said arms, and radiator clamping heads mounted upon said yoke for rotating on an axis perpendicular to the axis of swivelling movement of the yoke, one at least of said heads having a universal connection with theyoke.

11.41 motorvehicle radiator lift comprising an elongated vertical cylinder, a piston having a working fit within the lower portion of the cylinder, means for applying force against the lower end of the piston for imparting upward movement thereto within the cylinder, a rod concentric with and extending substantially the entire length of the cylinder, said rod being spaced from the sidewall of the cylinder, guide rings in which said rod is slidable and holding the rod centered within said cylindena sleeve jacket having a closed upper end swivelled upon the upper end of the rod and moving'upwardly and downwardly with the .rod and piston,-said jacket surrounding and having a snug sliding fit upon the-outer surface of the cylinder side wall, thejacket lapping the cylinder side-wall a substantial distance in the uppermost position of the jacket relative to the cylinder, arms rigid with an intermediate portion of the jacket and inclined downwardly and away from the 'jacket,-a yoke swivelled upon and ex- 8 tending laterally away from the arms, and clamping heads mounted upon the yoke and rotating on an axis perpendicular to the axis of swivelled movement of the yoke, one atleast of said heads 5 being adjustable toward and away from the other head and being universally connected to the yoke..

WILLIAM R. WILLIAMS.

10 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 15 Number Name Date 485,742 Herzberg et a1. Nov. 8, 1892 941,137 Falcone Nov. 23, 1909 1,964,119 Hendry June 26, 1934 1,978,999 Jones Oct. 30, 1934 20 2,419g813 Berchtold Apr; 29, 1947. 

